Follow Your Heart
by Zoja
Summary: My idea of what season six can bring. Beckett said yes, but still went to DC. Gates offered Castle to stay at the precinct and the new Detective joins the 12th's homicide team. Very minor spoilers for season six, consisting of casting snippets.
1. Chapter 1

_I don't own Castle, the characters and anything anyone recognises as a part of the show. _

**A/N: **After "Watershed" I had a real plague of ideas for possible beginning of season six. Here is one, which I think is the most possible of all of them. A few small spoilers can be found inside, nothing major, as I'm just using the casting snippets and we know almost nothing about those new characters. This is just my view of how it all can go after the fifth season's finale.

* * *

The elevator stopped and Richard Castle walked out of it. It was the first time in a very long period of time, that he did it without Detective Beckett at his side or coffee for her in his hands. He looked surprised that he was there, and he most definitely was. With Kate in DC, the last thing he expected was to be asked to come to the precinct by Captain Gates. It would be nothing unusual if Esposito or Ryan invited him, but definitely not Iron Gates. And it was one of the most important reasons why he decided to go there, out of curiosity. He actually came to terms with the fact, that his days at the 12th are over, so when he got the phone call and heard the woman's voice, he had no idea what to think.

When he looked around, he noticed that everyone was gathered there. It was obvious that there was no case, as the murder board was clear and people were busy with paperwork. His eyes immediately fell on the empty desk and he noticed that it was still marked as Kate's, the nameplate with "Det. Beckett" still present there. He sighed, feeling a twinge of sadness at the thought of how nice it always felt to see her there, place a coffee in front of her to be rewarded with a smile it always brought to her face. It was another thing why he didn't feel like coming there; because he thought it wasn't going to be the same without her, so empty and wrong.

"Yo, Castle!" he heard Esposito's voice and looked away from the desk.

He didn't even noticed that Espo and Ryan were sitting at their places and looking at him. He slowly made his way to them, noticing that his chair was also standing on its place. He took it and placed it closer to two Detectives, before sitting in it.

"It's been a while, since we saw you here for the last time." said Ryan, and the writer nodded.

"I know but I wasn't sure if now, that Beckett is gone, I'm not going to get kicked out the minute I place my foot in this room." he suggestively motioned to the Captain's office with his head, but it wasn't really necessary for his companions to understand the message. "It only makes the fact that she practically summoned me here even more mysterious."

The door to Gates' office suddenly opened and all the heads immediately turned in the direction. Castle followed everyone's gazes as well and noticed Gates walk out of there, accompanied by someone he has never seen before. The woman was about the Captain's height, slender, with long blond hair tied in the simple ponytail at the back of her head. She was dressed quite casually, but with a hint of professionalism and elegancy.

"If I could have everybody's attention, please." said Gates, even though it was obviously not needed, as everyone was looking at her. "I would like to introduce Detective Rachel McCord from the 8th precinct, who was temporarily assigned to our homicide team to take over Detective Beckett's duties until the permanent replacement is found. I know that some of you may not be happy with this.." she looked directly at Castle, Ryan and Esposito "..but I expect you to make her feel welcome here. This is your desk, Detective, make yourself comfortable."

"Thank you, Captain." Rachel smiled slightly and after a slightly hesitant greeting addressed to everyone, sat at the assigned place.

She didn't think of going around the room and trying to meet everyone, make friends. From the moment she stepped into the room, the way people looked at her told her that she wasn't really welcome there. She was aware of that possibility, when she agreed for the offer to join the homicide team in this precinct. As much as she loved working at the 8th precinct, after recent events she really needed a break from it and with this being a temporary assignment, it was just perfect for her. Of course, she knew what she was getting herself into, because probably every cop in New York heard of the homicide team in the 12th, mostly because of the fact that Richard Castle was a part of it. And she had to admit, she was very curious of how it worked and how it happened that he stayed there for such a long time. Still, she had no doubts that they were all very loyal to Kate Beckett and wouldn't be set friendly towards her, even though the woman was gone for almost a month now. But it wasn't going to change her mind and she intended on doing her job well, if they're going to like her or not.

"I see you came, Mr. Castle." Gates now looked at the writer, who was curiously staring at the new Detective, and when he heard her voice he quickly moved his eyes to the Captain. "Follow me to my office, please."

Even with the 'please' at the end, there was no doubts that it was an order, and Castle stood up from the chair and followed the woman. She closed the door behind him, walked to her desk and gestured towards the chair standing in front of it.

"I'm sure you're very curious why you're here. I am wondering what are your plans for now, Mr. Castle."

"I don't think I understand, Sir. I thought that with Detective Beckett no longer working here, my agreement is over, and you'd be actually content with getting rid of me."

"Well, as much as I admit, that I wasn't ecstatic with your presence, I cannot deny that it was useful. And this is why I was wondering what you intend to do now. I understand that your arrangement was made to give you the opportunity to follow _specifically_ Detective Beckett, but I had the impression that it became something more for you than a research for a new character."

"That's true, Sir. The research was one thing, as all the cases I've worked on with them allowed me to create nice ideas for my books. However, I really enjoyed being a part of this team, working on solving those murders."

"Really? That's surprising, considering that you didn't even show yourself here to ask if it would be possible for you to stay in the precinct. Because, honestly, that's what I thought you were going to do."

"Oh." was the only thing he was able to mutter, as he had to focus really hard not to stare in shock at the Captain. He really didn't expect Iron Gates to tell him, that she kind of waited for him to come there and ask for lengthening his stay at the 12th. "Well... Firstly, as you said, I've got an allowance to follow Detective Beckett and she's not here anymore. Then, I was quite sure that with her gone, you're going to gladly throw me out of here, because it's no secret that you're not the biggest fan of my cooperation with the precinct. Considering this, I thought that I can as well stay at home."

It was turn for Victoria Gates to be quite astonished. She couldn't deny that he was right, because she never really showed any sign of having positive feelings towards his person or the whole arrangement. In fact, she was terribly displeased with it when she first took over Roy Montgomery's responsibilities, but after a few cases she could see that he was indeed quite useful, just like her predecessor wrote in his notes. His crazy theories and immature behaviour were driving her crazy, but she decided to give him a chance and he definitely passed the test. As much as she hated to admit, she could see advantages of Castle's presence at the precinct and his influence on Detective Beckett. Even though it was all under the name of research, it quickly became obvious for her that over those three years before she came there, it evolved to something completely different. There was no denying that a very strong bond appeared between Beckett and Castle – far stronger than between casual partners – and she was really surprised when she saw, that they seemed to completely ignore it. But it wasn't her business and it didn't affect their work, yet, she could see that for the writer, it became even more than just following Beckett. She could see passion for solving those cases in him and it was the main reason why she was so surprised, that he gave up so easily.

"With Detective Beckett and you gone, I really lack people. I am not saying that Detectives Esposito and Ryan aren't doing their job well, quite the contrary, but I think that our homicide team really could do with more than two people. We've got Detective McCord now, for what I am very grateful, and I think that she would feel better if she had a partner. Not that I doubt her abilities, because I've read a very good opinion of her from her Captain, but I am aware that she may not be accepted easily here. The last thing I need is spreading of the information that our precinct isn't a very nice place, because people here are conservative and unfriendly. This is why I thought that maybe you would like to change your arrangement a bit, so instead of agreement for following Detective Beckett, you'd have the allowance to cooperate with our homicide team."

"I feel... flattered."

Castle was watching the woman carefully, but it seemed that there was nothing unsaid behind her words. At the same time, he couldn't help but feel unsure. If anyone told him that she'll offer him to stay with the precinct, he'd say that there was nothing he could hesitate about, but right now it was exactly opposite. He didn't really know if he wanted to stay in the precinct, or more specifically, work with the Detective other than Kate Beckett. He could remember his experiment with Slaughter, and even though he didn't suspect that the inconspicuous woman he saw could be anything like him, he wasn't really sure if he should accept this offer.

"Why don't you give me your answer by the end of the week?" asked Gates, like she was reading his mind and he agreed.

Ryan and Esposito were sitting at their desk, and even though they should be focused on their paperwork, they kept looking either in direction of the Captain's office or the new Detective. Rachel McCord acted like she was completely oblivious that ninety percent of eyes in the room were at her, but the truth was that she could feel all this staring and just chose to ignore it. Meanwhile, they could see Castle and Gates discussing something, and the curiosity got the better of their patience. They were wondering what the two of them could talk about so civilly, as Gates seemed to mostly shout at Castle, showing him her displease. Finally, the writer got out and walked out, closing the door behind himself and looked at them with shock all over his face.

"What is it, Bro?" asked Esposito, unable to keep the question to himself any longer.

"What did Iron Gates want from you?" added Ryan, obviously as interested as his partner.

They heard a snort and his heads immediately turned to the newest addition to the team. McCord was shaking her head with a small smile, but didn't even raise her head to look at them. They exchanged glances and shrugged, understanding each other perfectly even without saying their thoughts out loud. The woman was at least strange.

"She asked me to stay at the precinct." Castle didn't even try to hide a surprise in his voice, and both Detectives looked at him in an equal shock.

"Wow, that's great! Right?" Ryan looked at him, trying to guess Castle's feelings and noticed that the man didn't seem to be very happy about it.

"Yes, it is. I'm just not sure if I actually want to stay... I mean, the biggest fun of the whole following Beckett at work was exactly following _Beckett_."

"It's not like anyone had any doubts that it is about her from the beginning, Bro. But why do I have a feeling, that even though it's about Beckett, it's not the way you show it now."

"What do you mean, Espo?"

"I mean, that you're afraid that Beckett isn't going to like you following another Detective, especially _female _Detective, and you want to ask her permission first."

Esposito was looking at him with a look telling 'I know that I'm right, just admit it', while Ryan grinned because of his partner's words and the face expression, which appeared on Castle's face. It was a mix of disbelief and embarrassment, and the way he was opening and closing his mouth to say something only made the two men grin wider.

"I don't know where did the two of you get this idea from, but I _do not_ have to ask Beckett's permission to stay at the precinct. And now, if you excuse me, I've got a chapter to write."

With this words he left, completely ignoring his two friends now talking to each other how much it was the matter, because otherwise he wouldn't have reacted this way, and the female Detective, who was now openly grinning as she followed him with her eyes.

_~ Caskett ~_

"Are you kidding me, Castle?" Beckett's voice wafted around his office.

It was already an evening, and he was sitting there and writing, when the popup informing him that she's available appeared on his screen. He didn't hesitate to call her and the image from her webcam soon covered everything else on his laptop.

"Okay, okay, don't be angry. I just thought it won't hurt to ask!" he said in a defensive tone and the smile on her face widened.

"Castle, I don't mean that you shouldn't accept Gates' offer. I just can't believe that you're asking me for permission to do this!"

He could feel the warmth spread over his entire face and didn't need to look at the small square with his own image to know that he's blushing deeply. He didn't plan to do this, but Esposito's words made him think and the longer he was replaying them in his mind, the more convinced he was getting that it may not be such a bad idea to ask Kate about her feelings. During their talk on the swings they agreed not to keep anything important – and preferably nothing at all – away from each other, and he intended to keep this promise.

"It's just... I don't want you to discover it in some unwanted way, jump into conclusions and be angry at me. I can remember how jealous you were every time I showed the sings of being interested in working with other people."

"Like who for example?"

"Jordan Shaw? I can remember how possessive you became, accusing me of building theories with her instead of you! Sophia? I mean, I know that she turned out the be our enemy, but you can't deny that you were jealous of her before we knew it. Or how you pretended to completely don't care about me following Slaughter and doing all those jealous faces... Or..."

"Castle, it was because you were supposed to be _my _partner. Now, you can't be my partner anymore, so I really don't see a reason why I should be against you following another cop. I may not feel completely fine with it, because when you were with me, I could be sure that you're fine, but other than this I really don't see any problems."

"Espo suggested that the problem may be that the cop is slightly younger than you, blonde, a little plain but pretty anyway..."

"You say Espo?" she looked at him with her eyebrows raised and chuckled at his reaction. "Castle, I _trust _you. I'm in DC, your daughter is in Costa Rica, your mother is mostly absent and Espo, Ryan and Lanie don't spend every minute of the day with you. If you wanted to cheat on me, you'd have no problem!"

"So you don't see this whole partnership with Detective McCord as cheating on you, even if only professionally?"

"Not really, but if it's going to make you feel better, you have my blessing to cheat on me, professionally."

She smiled and was happy to notice, that corners of his mouth soon turned upwards as well. She felt a small twinge of sadness at the thought that she'd like to hug or kiss him, as a sign that she really is fine with all this. It's been almost four full weeks since she had left New York and felt his arms around her for the last time. She was very busy, spending most time of her days at work but it didn't change the fact that she missed him terribly. Especially, when just like that evening, she was at home and could actually think about something different than solving a case. Before she left, they would just sit at his or her apartment and spend the time together, enjoying the free time. Now she could only wish he was there, right next to her, while the closest thing she had was the image of his face on her laptop's screen.

"So, how is DC? I'm happy to see that you're not stuck in the office till very late night."

"Yeah, I even have a day off tomorrow, unless there is a case and they have to summon me."

"That's great, you look like you could use a few long, uninterrupted hours of sleep and a day of lazing."

"Yeah, thanks, I'll take it as a compliment. I still have to go shopping tomorrow, most of the food I had became quite furry."

"It's not its fault that you spend so little time at home. And I think I'm not going to keep you longer. Go to bed, think about me and have nice dreams."

She chuckled, but agreed anyway. He was right, she really needed some proper rest, because most of what she was having lately were two or three hours every now and then, and even though the coffee was as for now effectively hiding it, she was exhausted. They finished the call and she turned off the laptop, placing it back at the small shelf under the table. She was in her pyjamas and just walked to the bedroom. Her eyes immediately landed on the ring, lying on the bedside table, just when she left it as she was getting ready for a bath. She smiled but it only made her miss Castle a little more, even though she knew that he was only a phone call away and she could make it at any time of the day or night, as he assured her so many times before she left. She slipped under the covers of the uncomfortably empty bed, but she quickly found his advice very useful. The moment she thought about him, she drifted off to sleep.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: **Big thank you for everyone, who followed, favourited or reviewed and didn't get a thank you in PM. I didn't think this story would get such a reaction. Before I'll leave you to the next chapter, may I ask for anyone to explan to me, what does driven mean in relation to the person? Thanks in advance. So, here is chapter number two. Enjoy.

* * *

An annoying sound broke the perfect silence in the room. It was loud, piercing and infuriating, and made Kate Beckett jump into the sitting position on her bed. She reached her hand out towards the clock, only to hit it and realise that it wasn't an alarm. Of course, it couldn't be – she didn't even set it, because there was no need to. Only after a moment she realised, that it was the doorbell. She moaned, getting out of the bed to open the door quickly, shouting that she's coming. As much as she could understand that someone could want to hurry her because of lack of time, she didn't think it was absolutely necessary to press the doorbell this way, making it ring practically constantly. She finally reached the door and opened it without looking through the peephole. The sound was driving her crazy and she just wanted it to subside. Her eyes widened in surprise at the sight of the person standing outside.

"Castle!" she exclaimed and after the initial shock, a huge grin appeared on her face.

He smiled slightly but before he was able to say anything, she closed the space between them in one leap, wrapping her arms around his torso and resting her cheek against his chest. He embraced her tightly as well, sighing in content at the feeling of her body pressed against him, the familiar scent of cherries, which was always present around her, coming to his nose. She closed her eyes, her grip tightening even more, as if he was going to vanish into thin air the moment she lets him go. It only struck them in this moment, when they were finally able to be so close, how much they really missed each other. Talking on the phone or over the Internet - even with webcams allowing them to see each other - was great, but it was nothing in comparison to the closeness and intimacy the physical contact could give.

She felt him gently push her further into the apartment and heard the quiet click of the door closing, when they took few small steps inside. She groaned, when he withdrew slightly from her, but then his hand cupped her face and placed his lips on hers. At first it was a soft, tender kiss but it quickly turned into a passionate, needy one. It was full of all the feelings, which were experiencing in the moment; joy, happiness, love, longing, need and many others. She moaned into his mouth when his hand moved to the back of her head to deepen the kiss, while his arm circled around her waist, pressing her even tighter against him. She tangled her fingers into his hair, her other hand on his back, her fingernails digging slightly into his body as their tongues were dancing in unison. When they finally moved away a moment later, only because of the lack of the air, they were both panting heavily and still holding each other closely.

"God, Kate, I missed you." he said in a little husky voice, looking into her eyes.

"I missed you too, Castle. So much..." she answered breathlessly with her hand on his face, her thumb caressing his cheek. "What are you doing here?"

"You said that you have the day off today, and we haven't seen each other in what seems like ages... I thought I can surprise you and come with a visit..."

A small smile appeared on his lips at the thought of the previous evening. He didn't plan to tell her that he was thinking of flying there after they finished their talk, but wasn't sure if he should do this. He had doubts, because she didn't say anything, what could sound as any kind of invitation and he wasn't sure if she would like him to come. It was exactly how his mother found him, and her voice was still ringing in his ears. _"If she didn't want you to come, she wouldn't tell you about having a day off, Richard!" _she said, convincing him that he should have already bought a ticket for the first available flight to DC. "_You said yourself that she looked and sounded exhausted, so I really doubt that she would have been thinking straight enough to form a plan for you to come."_

"I love this surprise." she said, kissing him, but this time it was just a short, gentle kiss.

She really did love the fact that he thought of it and flew to her. It didn't cross her mind on the previous evening until she was lying in the empty bed and thinking how wonderful it would be to be able to cuddle to him, feel his arms around her. It was something she hated about spending nights at her apartment, as during the last couple of months she really grew used to falling asleep to the feeling of his warmth close to her, his arms around her, the sound of his heartbeat or his body spooned behind hers. There was always some kind of contact between them and it was yet another thing she missed very much.

Just as he said on the previous evening, he was quite insistent of making the whole day about relaxing, lazing and doing only what they wanted to do. She knew that he had no problems with noticing just how tired she was on the previous evening, and later in the day, when they were lying cuddled in the bed after a passionate session of lovemaking, she found herself wondering what she did to deserve him.

A lot of things could be said about Richard Castle; there were times when he acted like a huge, egoistical, spoiled child and had his moments of doing and saying things, that really shouldn't be said or done. He got himself known as an immature playboy, and when she met him she had no doubts that it was exactly what he was. But, as she got to know him, she saw that under this facade, there was a very caring, protective, loving man, who was ready to do absolutely everything for those, who he loved. She kept pushing him away over the years, just like she always did with anyone else, but he never gave up and in the end was able to damage all the walls she built to protect herself and break into her heart, like nobody has ever done before. And even though she hurt him so many times over all those years, he was still at her side and intent to remain there. She remembered him saying that he loved her the way she was; with all her walls, insecurities, fears and everything else; that he believes her that she tries to let him completely in, but it's difficult for her to stop clinging desperately to whatever of her independence still remained in her. She had only had to promise him that she'll do her best in allowing him to break those walls completely and get fully into her heart. They had agreed to take their time and talk about everything, so they wouldn't have to doubt anything and the repeat of the events from the previous days. Because if there was anything they were absolutely sure about, it was that their relationship was important to them and they really wanted to make it work.

"What are you thinking about?" he asked and when she looked up at him, Kate noticed that he was watching her and must have been doing this for a few minutes.

"You and me... Us..." was her only response, but his gaze told her that he wanted her to elaborate a little. "I was thinking how much I miss you, that I'm really lucky to have you, and that it feels wonderful to know that even if we are in two different places now, you're not going anywhere..."

"Yeah, you're stuck with me."

"I completely don't mind." she said and raised herself to place a kiss on his lips.

She smiled, when she felt him roll her onto her back and press himself tightly against her, as he laid on top of her, deepening the kiss.

~ Caskett ~

As much as he would love to stay for a few days, it wasn't really possible and not only because on a very early Friday's morning Beckett was summoned to work. He also had a few matters to take care of and needed to be back in New York. One of them was a meeting with Paula and he has already postponed it three times and was sure, that his agent would kill him if he called her to change the date once again. He also needed to go to the precinct and tell Captain Gates that he decided to keep working with the homicide team there.

He spend in the cafe over an hour. Paula made him choose the places he actually wanted to appear for a book signing. He also confirmed once again, that he will appear at the Nikki Heat movie premiere and he will _try_ to come with Beckett. His agent was insisting that he brings her with him because she was after all, the inspiration for the main character. He had to remind her that he can't give his words as it all depended on her work, but reassured her that she said she will come with him when he had mentioned it. He turned himself off when she started to complain that his work with the precinct really limits his opportunities to appear at events, which he really should go to. It was something she did every time they talked and he learnt to just ignore her until she's finished.

He sighed with relief, when he finally left the place and headed to the 12th. Only when he was standing in front of the coffee shop, he realised that out of the habit, he told the taxi driver its address, because he always stopped by this place on his way to the precinct, which was nearby. He felt strange, when at the sight of him the girl behind the counter started to prepare his usual order and he had to tell her that he just wanted one coffee. For a very short moment he contemplated bringing a cup for Rachel, but quickly decided against it. It would just feel horribly wrong, even if it would be meant only as an icebreaker.

He was surprised to find the team at their desks, but it seemed that it was just one of those calm periods, which were often followed by a very tough case. Just like he thought, Esposito and Ryan weren't really eager to get to know the new colleague and the two of them were engaged in the conversation, while she was sitting alone. He greeted her only with a small smile and nod, placing his cup of coffee close to the edge of the woman's desk and slowly, silently approached the two detectives, who were sitting with their backs turned to them and were very focused on something in the computer.

"What are you two plotting?" he asked loudly, placing his hands at their shoulders at the same time and both of them jumped.

"Gee, Castle!" shouted Ryan, when they both turned to see the writer standing in front of them with a huge grin plastered to his face.

"You should learn not to sneak up like this, we carry guns, you know?" said Esposito in a joking voice. "So, have you decided if you're staying with us or not?"

"I still have to inform Gates, but I'm staying. I'll be back in a moment."

He went to the Captain office and was really astonished by the smile, which appeared on her face after he told her about his decision. He assumed that she must have been in a very good mood, because she didn't tell him to go straight away but asked if he has seen Beckett recently and how she finds DC. With a corner of his eye he noticed, that Ryan and Esposito were leaving the precinct and the enthusiasm they were showing was telling him, that they have just gotten a new case. Of course, they didn't wish anyone death, but after spending hours on doing paperwork they actually wished for a new case, as it was inevitable that one will eventually appear.

"Mr. Castle?" he heard Gates call him, when he was standing at the door, ready to press the handle and turned around. "I trust your social abilities to draw Detective McCord into this team."

"Yes, Sir." he said, knowing that it was more of an order than a statement, even though she made it sound like the latter, and left the room.

He found Rachel leaning against the desk with her arms folded on her chest, obviously waiting for him, as the moment he stepped out of the Captain's office, she stood straight. He felt awkwardly when he stopped in front of her and it dawned on him, that she was good few inches shorter than him and unlike Beckett, wasn't wearing high heels.

"Ready for your first case with the 12th?" he asked, as they walked into the elevator.

"Sure." she answered simply and he glanced at her.

He couldn't help but feel strange at the thought that the blonde next to him was now his partner. He grew really accustomed to Beckett and going to the crime scene with somebody else seemed odd. But Kate was in DC and now, Rachel McCord was his partner. He'll just have to get used to this.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N:** I guess some of you will find the chapter to be boring, because there is no Caskett. It may be quite focused on the new detective, but I have to admit to being quite excited to work on her character. I mean, we don't know anything about her, so she's almost like an OC and I can create her the way I want. I spent a moment working on McCord's background, choosing ideas and finally decided to honour one of my friends in a way. I believe (or maybe hope more) that if my theory is correct and the mysterious detective McCord indeed turns out to be Kate's replacement, we may be given a chance to discover something about her. Well, I wait for developing Gates' background for two years now, so my hopes are probably vain. And when it comes to lack of Kate - I think we may not see her a lot in first episodes. But it's just my theory and I'm probably completely wrong, we'll see in September. Anyway, here is the next chapter, and maybe I'm not going to be eaten alive for it.

* * *

As Castle was sitting in the passenger's seat in the car, he was thinking that it was the most uncomfortable ride he has ever experienced. They were sitting in silence, as neither of them knew what to talk about. Few things came to the writer's mind but he dismissed them immediately; he didn't really want to start this partnership with possible insulting the detective. He didn't care about it when he met Beckett but he could easily say that he was a different person then. He's changed and matured, but he had no idea how much truth was in the second statement. But everything he saw and experienced during the last five years surely changed him, it was absolutely inevitable. It was also a fact, that with Kate it was all different. At the beginning, the whole following her around was more of whim, which he hoped would help him get into her pants than a real partnership. It only later developed into something much more. With Rachel McCord, it was all clearly professional – there was no hidden subtext, no other purpose than the ordinary collaboration with NYPD.

"So, McCord... You look more like a Rachel than a McCord." he mumbled in the middle of what he wanted to say. He expected her to snort or give some comment to this statement, but she remained silent and completely focused on the road. "Anyway, why did you come to the 12th? I'm not saying you're not welcome but from what Gates said, it's only temporary assignment. It was your own choice or you were sent to us?"

He had to try really hard not to groan, when he noticed her hands grip the steering wheel tighter. _Great Castle, the first question you ask her and it's already the wrong one._ She was quiet, her jaw clenched tightly and he was becoming convinced that she's going to conceal it, when suddenly he heard her sigh and speak.

"It was, actually, a little bit of both. I needed a break from my team and Allen, the Captain from the 8th, was aware of that. It turns out that he is a friend of Gates and he knew that she had some staff problems. He made the agreement with her, that if I want to, I can be transferred to her team until she finds the person, who will meet her requirements to fill the vacancy. He could just give me an order to take a leave, but he knew that I _need _towork so instead, he gave me a choice – the 12th precinct or leave."

"I see." he said, watching her carefully.

He was a little surprised by her words, because he was often quite good at reading people and Rachel McCord didn't really strike him as a kind of person, who was focused only at work. In his mind, he pictured her as the opposite of Beckett he met few years ago. He saw her as a person, who had a life besides being a cop, maybe even a family – if not existing, then planned. Everything about her just shouted to be different than Kate, and even though he spent quite a short amount of time in her company, his observations seemed to be right. She seemed to be open towards him, treat this unusual partnership as an interesting, new experience rather than unwanted arrangement she was put into.

"Let's say that I just can't really afford sitting at home on an unpaid leave." she added after glancing in his direction. The look on his face told her that she guessed his thoughts correctly. "Okay, we're here." she said, stopping the car just when he wanted to ask her, why couldn't she take the paid one.

They got out of the car and went in the direction of the crime scene, surrounded by the yellow tape and people from CSU. They approached the body and Lanie, kneeling next to it. She looked up, when she noticed them with a corner of her eye. Her gaze immediately landed at Detective McCord and her eyebrows raised in surprise. Of course, she heard about the new female detective at the precinct, who was the replacement for Kate, and at first she thought that she'll be like a copy of her best friend. She didn't hesitate to call Esposito after she heard the news, surprised that she got it to know from Perlmutter, and Javi informed her that she definitely wasn't like Kate. Thanks to the way he said that, it was also obvious for her that the two male detectives' feelings towards her weren't very warm. All mixed together, she couldn't wait to meet the woman in person, and now, that she was approaching her with Castle, Lanie thought that at first sight, she was nothing like Beckett.

"Ladies, allow me to introduce you." said Castle, and the look Rachel sent him – like he was a little crazy – made Lanie smile a little. "Doctor Lanie Parish, our best Medical Examiner, who we have the luck to work most often with." he said, gesturing towards the doctor with his hand it was now her turn to look at him in disbelief. "Detective Rachel McCord, from the 8th precinct, our newest team member." his hand moved towards the detective.

"It's nice to finally meet you, Detective. I heard quite a lot about you." Lanie extended her hand and the corner of Rachel's mouth moved a little up in a smirk.

"I bet you did. It's nice to meet you, too." McCord shook the doctor's hand and looked at the victim, just like her two companions.

A young man was lying there, his face swollen and bruised, one side of his head practically crushed. He was lying in a huge pool of blood, but even though he had injuries, none of them could make him bleed so badly. He looked like he was beat to death and it's what Lanie believed to be a cause of death.

"There was no ID found and everybody claim that they have never seen him before. A guy from the club says he wasn't at work yesterday but gave us contact to the person, who did. He also mentioned that there is a woman named Margaret Evans living above the club, who may know something more. Her windows face this alley and she's known for constant complaints, that she can't sleep because the people, who come there, often make a lot of noise."

"That's quite obvious. Has anyone gone to interview her, yet?"

"No, not yet." Esposito shook his head and McCord nodded.

"Okay then, Castle and I will go to her. We'll see you after the autopsy." she said to Lanie and motioned her head, telling Castle to follow her.

The writer said goodbyes to Lanie and Espo and started to walk down the street with her, while the two remained on their places and watched them go.

"Has anyone gone to interview her, yet?" they heard Javier mimic Rachel's question, changing his voice to sound higher, followed quickly by Lanie's hiss "Javi!", and Castle glanced in the direction of the blonde detective. There was no way she wouldn't hear it and her only reaction was to roll her eyes.

Margaret Evans turned out to be a woman in her sixties, who absolutely hated her place of residence but had no other choice but remain there. She was quite descriptive about reasons for this, even though she was only asked how long she lived there. Twenty minutes after coming to her, they knew that she was living in a completely different area of the city until all of her money was stolen, the police has never found the culprit and she has never seen even a cent of it again. She had to sell almost all of her jewellery – with the exception of wedding ring – and found this apartment, because she couldn't afford her previous one without her savings. She completely ignored Rachel's tries to interrupt her and turn the conversation towards the topic, which was the reason of their visit, making a pause to say how horribly the NYPD had treated her and that they should listen to her reasons before wondering why she doesn't like the institution. The detective only sighed, allowing her to continue and glancing at the watch every now and then.

"You said you're a homicide detective? Then, I guess, you're not here because of the damn scoundrel, unless someone grabbed him and taught him a lesson." she said, when she finished and McCord immediately looked at her with more interest.

"No, we're here because of the man found dead in this alley." she gestured towards windows, which were facing the crime scene. "Do you by any chance recognise the man?"

She showed the picture taken few minutes earlier by her phone and Mrs. Evans gasped, covered her mouth and she looked at them with wide eyes.

"I saw him yesterday or maybe it was today. I'm not sure what hour it was, close to midnight. I was already thinking what a calm night it was, no quarrels, just a music in the club but I'm used to it by now. It was when I heard two male voices, shouting at each other. I looked through the window and saw him and another man, I think about the same age."

"Can you describe him a little more?" asked Castle, and the woman shrugged.

"I didn't see much, it's a dark alley. He was big – I mean tall and muscular, black with short hair. He was wearing a T-shirt, which colour was quite strong, red I think but I'm not sure... The one on the picture called him Ken, or Ben... Or maybe he was just saying 'man'..."

"Do you think you could come to the precinct and work with our sketch artist?"

"I don't think I have much of a choice. Anyway, those two were fighting, I saw the black one punch him in the face after he said something about sleeping with his sister. I thought it's not going to end quickly, so I just took out my earplugs and went to bed."

"And you didn't think of calling the NYPD, did you?"

"If I wanted to call the police with every single argument I hear, I would have to never hang up the receiver in the evening."

"I see. Thank you very much, Mrs. Evans, you were very helpful. We would be awaiting you at the precinct to get this sketch done. If you remembered something, here is my phone number." she took out a piece of paper and the pen out of her pocket, and wrote the number sequence on it before passing it to the woman.

She let out a sigh when they finally left the apartment and started heading to the car. Castle understood her reaction, because he was glad to leave the place as well. He never had anything against the smell of cinnamon, but it was way too strong for him inside.

"Why didn't you give her any of your cards?" he asked curiously, because her act didn't really have sense for him.

"There's a phone number and the address for the 8th. I can already hear her complaints after, by some accident, she called or came there only to hear that she has to contact another precinct." she made a face, which made Castle chuckle.

They both jumped, when suddenly the music from Harry Potter came to their ears. Rick saw her cheeks redden at the sight of the way he was looking at her. He could also see concern spread across her face and she quickly took the phone out of her pocket.

"Hi Sweetie, what's going on?" she asked, worry clearly audible in her voice. "I see. Did you try calling Mrs. Wilson? Oh, right, the doctor's appointment on Friday. Look, I'll call my boss now and I'll call you back in a moment, okay?"

"Who was that?" asked Castle, who didn't even try to hide his curiosity. The Harry Potter music as a ringtone wasn't something he has ever heard any cop use, they mostly used the basic ringing sounds, so his interest was raised very high.

"My daughter. I've got this tune set for her to know immediately that it's her, who's calling."

They've reached the car and got inside, but Rachel didn't start the engine. Instead, she took our her wallet and started to go through all the cards she had here. Castle, who was watching her intently all the time, noticed that she had a very various set of them and was able to catch a glimpse of the one belonging to a hairdresser, ballet teacher, veterinarian and quite a few more. She finally found the one she was looking for, which belonged to Captain Gates and put the wallet in Castle's hands, asking him to hold it for a moment. When he looked at the thing, he found himself staring at the picture she was keeping there. He had no doubts that it had to be taken quite a while ago, because her hair was very short then, while now it was hanging well past her shoulders. In the photo, she was embracing a girl, who looked to be about ten. She was quite similar to her, but it wasn't very difficult to see the influences from her father's side in her looks.

It was then that he found himself glancing at her left hand. He could swear that he didn't see any ring earlier, and noticed it wasn't there now either. His writer's mind started to work, trying to think of the story behind it all, wondering if he just uncovered the story behind Rachel McCord. He completely drifted off and was brought back to reality only when she poked him slightly to get his attention.

"I had no idea you had such a big daughter." he said, giving the wallet back to her and she shrugged.

"You know me for what, few hours? You have no idea about a lot of things about me. Riley is just the tip of an iceberg. Now we're going to stop by her school, Gates agreed for me to bring her to the precinct until the woman, who takes care of her while I'm at work, can pick her up."

"What about her father?" he couldn't help but ask and Rachel didn't even glance at him.

"It's none of your business, Castle." she just said but he had no doubts that it was one of the topics, which he shouldn't really touch.

He was never good at keeping away from things like this and it raised his curiosity even a little higher. Every people had their own story, which made them the way they were, and he as a writer liked to uncover them. He was curious what story was hidden behind his new partner, and she just accidentally gave him the trace of it on the plate. He had quite a few theories already built in his mind, and he was quite determined to uncover which one was right.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N:** In my notes it was a short chapter... I got a little carried away and after I crossed 3000 words I decided that I have to change my plans a little. The place I finished seemed the best place to make a stop, even if it makes the chapter have no real action. There is, however, some Caskett intended in the next one, and I hope it'll make it up to you. Thank you for your reviews, follows and favourites. They mean a lot to me.

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A little over twenty minutes later Castle found himself sitting in the car, waiting for McCord in front of the building shared by students of middle and high school. It took her a while, but almost ten minutes after they arrived he noticed her go out with the girl, who nobody could have any doubts was her daughter at first sight. The similarity between them wasn't as visible in the picture, but their hair colour, facial features, body built and even the way they were walking, it was all practically the same. Few differences Rick noticed between the two included light freckles on the girl's face, which her mother lacked, and Riley's green eyes in contrast to her mother's gray ones.

It wasn't the only thing that got his attention - the girl's calf-long jeans trousers were torn on the knee and the fresh bandage was visible under them, he could also see a lot scars after cuts and injuries, as well as few scratches, bruises and a still healing cut just above her ankle.

His eyebrows raised and it didn't escaped the detective's attention. It was clear, however, that something was wrong, there was a visible anger in moves and resentful expression on the girl's face. She threw the rucksack onto the back seat, sat next to it, slammed the door and crossed her arms on her chest, looking behind the side window. Castle looked at his partner surprised and she only mouthed 'later'. He turned to look at Riley, thinking of the way he could start a friendly conversation with her, but the look she shot him made him turn around quickly. The fierce fire in her eyes told him that at least for now, it was better to leave her alone. When he glanced at Rachel, he noticed a small smirk on her face; of course, she knew that it was to be expected.

They drove in silence, and after getting a very angry shut up just before they reached the school, Castle decided that it was better to remain this way. He tried his luck in getting anything out of her and it didn't work, it even looked like she stopped being eager to share anything with him but it was difficult to judge. She looked like she was completely indifferent, yet she seemed to pay attention to what he was doing. He thought that if she completely kicked him out, she would just ignore him.

"Go in and wait in front of the elevator." said Rachel to her daughter, when they reached the precinct and got out of the car.

Riley didn't say anything only walked into the building, but Castle had no doubts that she was still angry.

"May I have a question?" he asked and the detective looked at him with her eyebrows raised. He nodded, understanding the message – since when was he asking that? "Why do you treat her like a small child?"

"What do you mean, Castle?" she sent him a questioning look and the writer shrugged.

"I mean, she's twelve. Yet, you pick her up at school because this woman, who you say takes care of her, can't. When my daughter was twelve, she was coming home by herself and didn't need a babysitter."

"Castle, my dear, she mostly comes home by herself and Mrs. Wilson isn't babysitting her. But being a single mother and a detective doesn't really work well together, you know? There are weeks that I almost don't see my daughter at all, because I leave before she wakes up and come back when she's already asleep. You don't know how lucky I am to have such a wonderful neighbour as Mrs. Wilson, who is like a family for us. Thanks to her I can be at work and at peace, that Riley isn't alone all the time, has a dinner to eat, and someone to make sure she does her homework and to go to in case something happens."

"What about picking her up like today?"

"I guess you've never been summoned to school because your daughter got into troubles, have you?" he shook his head and she smiled. "If I kept counting, it would be at least a hundred times since she started school. Riley isn't exactly an angel, you know? Did you see how she looks? All the scratches, bruises? She's like a young adventurer, running around, going everywhere just to see what's there. There is probably no tree in the neighbourhood she hasn't climbed and no empty building she and her friend hasn't been inside. Is it how your daughter was her age?" he had to shake his head again "I don't know how it is in other schools, I was never really interested. But here, when your child does something they shouldn't, the teacher doesn't beg you to come because she needs to talk about your child's behaviour. I agreed to it at the beginning of the school year, and when Riley gets into troubles, me or a person indicated by me have to pick her up and talk to the teacher."

"I see. So, today is one of those days that she wasn't a good girl?"

"Today, she absolutely excelled herself! She got into a fight with a boy from the eighth grade, who is almost twice as big as she is!"

"Wow!" he said, it was something he definitely didn't expect "I guess she's lucky she has only an injured knee, however it happened."

"Oh no, this happened on PE, she fell when they were running. If anyone here is lucky, it's this boy, Castle. He should be happy that she only broke his nose."

"She did what?!" he goggled at her, in shock. "You're kidding, right?" she shook her head and her facial expression told him, that it really wasn't a joke. "Why would she do that?"

"According to her, she was only protecting Heri. It's her best friend, and he's often provoked by other students because of his looks, clothes and the fact that he's a huge nerd. The fact that his first name is Heriberto probably has something to do with it as well. Is your curiosity satisfied now? Because I think we should finally go in."

He only nodded and followed her into the building. He couldn't help and snorted slightly when his eyes fell on the girl, who was leaning against the wall, next to the elevator and ignoring everyone around. He tried to picture what Rachel just told him and really couldn't believe that this quite petite person could be able to stand a chance against anyone in fight. He guessed she was angry because McCord didn't consider the defending-a-friend side of it all, and probably grounded her. He couldn't know but from what he observed, he thought that the detective must have been quite a strict mother.

A while later he was in the break room, leaning against the counter and watching his new partner talk with her daughter. He was wondering what it must have been for her, raising the girl on her own and working in the NYPD. He knew what it was like to be a single parent but he could see a point in what she told him, it was really a different matter for them. She was right in saying that his career allowed him much more freedom than hers and there was no time, when he couldn't just drop everything and run to Alexis if she needed him. He also noticed a sadness in McCord's eyes when she told him that there were days when she had no contact with her child, and he knew how difficult it was. He still remembered what he felt the first time Alexis went for a camp, and how hard his mother had to convince him not to call her few times a day. It wasn't exactly the same and he knew, that Rachel had to also feel horribly guilty. Yet, as he was watching them, he noticed that they seemed to have a good contact with each other.

He jumped when his phone vibrated in his pocket and smiled seeing the text message from Kate. "_I heard you've got a new case. That's good, you won't be bored. I'm just eating my lunch and thinking that I already miss you. Try not to get yourself killed by the new detective._". His smiled widened – of course she was sure he'll drive his partner crazy. But he had to admit that she could be right.

He didn't even know where it came from, but he started to wonder what kind of mother Kate would be. He had a feeling she would be really excellent – loving, committed and protective, maybe a little strict but wanting to give her child everything they would want. She had a good contact with Alexis, and the small glimpse of her with little Angela during one of their first cases together told him, that she would be great with small children as well. He felt warmth spread through his body, his mind offering him an image of her with a small boy in her arms, Kate smiling and cooing to the child, a perfect mix of him and her, the little one utterly happy with her company and attention. He sighed, he would do a lot to be able to witness it one day. The truth was, however, that he didn't even know if Kate wanted to have children at all. Spending her life with him was one thing, but having a child with him was another and not really inseparable with the first one.

"Daydreaming?" he jumped at the sound of the voice right next to him and noticed the blonde leaning against the counter at his left. "Thinking about your girlfriend, aren't you?"

"She's actually my fiancée, but yes. How is the little warrior?" he gestured towards Riley, he was now sitting behind her mother's desk and writing something.

"Good. We had a talk, she's still grounded but not resentful towards the whole world anymore. Doing her homework now."

"That's great. I am just curious, why Harry Potter? From what you say, she's more like Indiana Jones." he looked at her, completely shocked when she exploded with laughter. "What?"

"No, nothing! It's just unbelievable that you brought up this particular character." she said, still smiling widely. "You know, when I was a child, I was known as a 'female Indiana Jones'. A lot of people didn't even know my name, but they still knew who I was. Yes, Castle, don't look at me like this. She's exactly what I remember being her age. Only now I understand what my mother was going through with me..."

"I definitely didn't see this coming. I know that I have no way of knowing what you were back then, I can't even say I know you now, but I kind of saw you as a more... girly kind of person. I could actually see you, dressed in pink dress, with two long, blonde ponytails falling down your shoulders..."

"My mother actually made me look like this..." she pulled a disgruntled face "But after I made a fight and started to pick my clothes, the only time I was seen in a dress was my prom. And I hated to have ponytails on the sides of my head! The moment I was out of my mother's sight, I was pulling the bands off!"

"And how many noses have you broken?" he couldn't stop himself from asking and she squinted her eyes, but a smile stayed on her face.

"No noses. I've broken one arm but it was completely by accident! I gave a few black eyes, though. It's why I can't be really mad at her that she is like this – I've been exactly the same!"

"I, on the other hand, am really grateful that my daughter is nothing like me. I have no idea where she got it from, but as long as I remember she was more like an adult than me."

"You know, I just got an image of a five year old girl standing in front of you, her arms crossed on her chest and saying 'Daddy, you shouldn't have done this! You could have hurt yourself!'"

They spend there more time, sharing stories about their children and Castle could see that it was a ground, which could definitely let them create a bond. He was happy because of it, Alexis was his pride and joy, and he loved to talk about her, just like Rachel seemed to love talking about Riley. He also remembered Beckett saying that Richard Castle the father was probably the best side of him and it was also the one, which made her see him in the new light. It was what made him convinced, that letting McCord see this side of him was a good idea to start getting to know her better. It seemed to be working, and they joked, laughed and teased each other, stopping only at the sound of Esposito clearing his throat. They looked in the direction of the door, both grinning and noticed the detective standing there, with a not very pleased expression on his face.

"There is a woman out there, insisting that she's going to talk only to Detective McCord or _Detective Castle_." the two last words Espo said looking at the writer with raised eyebrows and Rick only shrugged. He has never introduced himself as a detective.

"Must be our favourite Mrs. Evans. I better go to her before she changes her mind and leaves the precinct." with that, McCord walked out of the room, leaving the two man.

"You know, Castle, I'm not sure if that's what Beckett had in mind when she agreed to you being partnered with her." said Javier, not even trying to hide the displeasure in his voice.

"What do you mean, Espo?" Rick was really taken aback by the detective's statement and stood straight, looking at him with curiosity, his eyebrows furrowed.

"Your oh-so-friendly chit-chat here, you being all over her? Beckett is in DC and your 'research' is over, but I really didn't think you'd find yourself a new muse so quickly, Castle."

Castle opened his mouth in surprise, having no problem with reading the hidden meaning behind the detective's words. Of course, that was definitely explaining the resentful looks Esposito was sending in his direction, but he had absolutely no idea where he got this idea from. He was just trying to be nice for the new partner, to get to know her better and possibly make friends with her and in his opinion, it was completely ridiculous to think that there could be something more to it.

"Are you suggesting that I'm trying to replace Kate with her? How can you even think like that? Don't you see how absurd it is? I am just trying to be nice! Because you know, it's not Rachel's fault that Beckett took the job and left the precinct, but everyone around seem to blame her! And in case you haven't noticed, I've been assigned her partner. It is only reasonable that I want to get to know her a little seeing that I'm going to have to work with her."

"Oh, it's Rachel now? You know, I really thought you're different."

Rick let out a frustrated sigh, watching Esposito walk away and sit behind his desk. He couldn't really believe that the man was acting this way, just like he wasn't able to understand why everyone were so hostile towards the new detective. He had no doubts that it must be the reason why Javier reacted this way to his attempts to create a bond with her. He knew that everyone would rather Kate had stayed and still worked with them – so would he – and suspected, that they were showing their loyalty to her but he didn't see a point in it. Beckett left and if she would come back, then it wouldn't be because of their behaviour. Not that he thought that she would do that, because from what he was observing, she seemed to like her new job.

He had no idea how long he was standing there but Margaret Evans' voice got him out of his thoughts and he walked out into the bullpen. McCord was walking with her towards the elevator and when he glanced in the direction of the sketch artist, he seemed very relieved. When the woman left, the detective walked to the murder board and passed the sheet of paper to Castle. When he looked at it, he immediately thought that the man didn't look like someone, who would beat a person to death. He didn't hesitate to voice his thoughts and to his surprise, McCord nodded.

"He may not be a killer, but he's definitely a person we need to find. If he didn't kill, he's probably the last person to see the guy alive and he may at least be able to identify him." she said and they both looked to the side, when the door to Captain Gates' office suddenly opened and the woman walked out with a smile, going towards them.

Castle's eyebrows unconsciously raised at the sight of Iron Gates, but it seemed she was really determined to make sure that Rachel feels good at the precinct. He understood that she was caring about the 12th's good opinion, and he suspected that what McCord told him earlier about the Captain from the 8th being Gates' friends also meant something. He tried hard to keep a completely indifferent face but it was really difficult and he knew that it didn't skip Gates' attention, when she cleared her throat, looking directly at him.

"So, how is the case going?" she asked, looking at the new detective.

"It's more crawling than going." said McCord, shrugging "Ryan and Esposito are watching recordings from the club, trying to find anything what can be useful for us to identify our victim or get closer to his death. The truth is, however, that this whole crime scene doesn't make any sense. Dr. Parish said that even though the guy was bleeding, he wouldn't lose such an amount of blood because of his injuries, yet we found him in a huge pool of it."

"Maybe his blood was pumped after he died and then the killer put him in the pool of it." suggested Castle and both women sent him deadly glares. He sighed, even he had to admit that this theory was lame.

"I would be more inclined to the possibility of it not being his blood. But this would mean that somewhere out there might be another victim. I'm no specialist, but I'd say that if someone lost so many blood, there's a small possibility they're alive."

Gates nodded and came closer to the board. Her eyebrows furrowed at the sight of the picture of the victim and she turned to face them a moment later.

"This is our victim?" she asked, deadly serious and they both nodded, taken aback a little by her question. "It's Joey Rendall..." she said, her voice showing the huge shock she was in.

"You know him, Sir?" asked Castle and McCord at the same time, and the writer immediately glanced at Esposito, who squinted his eyes looking at him.

"Yes, I do... He's my son's best friend..." she said, completely not sounding like herself.

"Is there any chance you know him as well?" Rick passed the picture he was holding to her and her eyes widened.

"Is this your suspect?!" she exclaimed, her eyes widening.

"As for now, the person of interest. We only know that he had a fight with our victim before he died, but we don't know how far it went... A witness says his name may be something like Ken or Ben..."

"Benjamin." stated Gates with her jaw clenched. She stood up and the initial shock disappeared from her countenance, and it seemed it was replaced by fury. "Don't give the picture to patrols, there's no need for it. He's going to be at the precinct within two hours."

With those words she turned around and walked quickly to her office, only to take a few things from there and storm out of the precinct, leaving everyone astounded by her behaviour. She almost knocked the older woman, who was going out of the elevator, off her feet and looked like she wanted to hurt the elevator for being so slow. The woman turned out to be Mrs. Wilson and after a while of friendly chat with Rachel, she walked out with her daughter.

"Isn't she a little too big for something like this?" asked Ryan, who approached them and McCord groaned.

"Not when she's grounded. What would be a point in me punishing her if I sent her home without making sure that she's not breaking rules?"

"True. By the way, why do I have a feeling that not only your daughter will be grounded?" asked Kevin, and Castle looked at him. It seemed that not only his mind brought him this theory. They could only wait to see if they were right.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: **Thank you for reading this story, reviewing, following, favouriting. It all really means a lot to me. It took me a while to write this chapter, mostly because of the frustration caused by the newest spoilers (those who looked at them as well may know what I think about). Now it's almost 1am here but I finished it. I can only hope you're going to like it.

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Victoria Gates was a woman, who had a lot of faces. There were very few people, who could say that they knew most of them and those people consisted in the majority of members of her family. Because they all could be divided into two groups – personal and professional. In the precinct, she was Iron Gates, a tough, strict, uncompromising cop, devoted to honesty and making people face justice. Now, as a Captain, the latter didn't play a huge part in her work, but there were cases, when she just wanted to get involved. But, the moment she parked her car and walked to the apartment she was living in with her family, she transformed to the person, who wouldn't be recognised by the cops working with her. At home, she was just Tori – or Mom; a loving, and caring woman, who would do everything for her close ones. Of course, there were moments when it mixed a little, and both parties were able to catch a glimpse of her other side, but it happened rarely. She hated mixing personal life with work and always tried not to do this.

On that day, however, there was no sign of her often considered to be better side. She shut the door to her car and walked up the stairs angry, almost breaking a key while opening the lock. When she finally got inside, she immediately walked to her son's room. He was sitting at his desk, in front of his laptop and playing a computer game. He had his headphones on, and was so engrossed in it that he had no idea that she was even in the room. She just approached him and slammed the laptop, making him jump.

"Mom? What are you ...?" he paused when he looked up at her face. One look was enough to know that it was Iron Gates standing in front of him and instead he just swallowed.

"You've got ten minutes to get ready and you don't want to be even a second late." was the only thing she said and stormed out.

She went to the living room and thought about sitting on the couch, but she was too full of emotions to be able to sit in one place. She started walking around, her arms crossed on her chest, waiting for her son and listening to the loud ticking of the big, old clock standing in the room. It was one of those moments when she absolutely hated the thing – not that she's ever liked it. It was especially infuriating on the nights, when she either came home late or couldn't fall asleep, and the rest of the house was quiet. Then, the ticking was audible in the whole apartment and it was only making dozing off harder, as she was finding herself focusing on it, her heart beat matching it. But she knew her husband loved it, because it was his family's keepsake – as well as the wedding gift from his parents; if not for those two reasons, she would have gotten rid of it years ago.

Her son took her words very seriously and nine minutes later was standing in front of her, ready to leave the apartment. There was a questioning look in his eyes and Gates looked up at him, taking a deep breath to calm herself.

"Do you have any idea how I felt, when one of my officers handed me a portrait of a possible suspect and I saw your face on it?" she asked and he opened his mouth in shock.

"A possible suspect?" he asked, a hint of fear in his voice. "Mom, I haven't done anything..."

"I am not saying that you did. I just want to hear what you were doing last night from the moment you left to the moment you came back, with every single detail." she gestured towards the couch and when he sat down, she took a place in the armchair, so she could watch him.

~ Caskett ~

McCord, Castle, Esposito and Ryan were all gathered around the blackboard, the three man talking about possible theories while Rachel was writing down all the new information they've gathered. It was half an hour earlier that Lanie sent Castle a text message, that she had some news for them. When he and McCord went to the morgue, they were immediately greeted by the ME's cheerful voice.

"I see he is still alive, that's a good sign." she smiled, seeing how Castle made a face, pretending to be hurt by her words.

"Why shouldn't I be alive, I'm a perfect gentleman!"

"Of course, Castle." she sent him a knowing look and approached the table, which their victim was lying on. "When it comes to Mr. Rendall here, I can tell you that he was definitely beat to death. However, it seems that he was in at least two fights. One was pretty minor, he only received a punch, which caused the black eye. The second one however, left all the other bruising, which as you see covers his whole body. I can now say without doubts that the time of death is about one a.m., and the cause of death is a blow to the head, which broke his neck. Judging by traces, the perpetrator used a metal pipe."

"There's been a pile of those lying in this street."

"Content of his stomach suggest that he consumed a burger and quite big amount of alcohol that evening. He could have mixed it with some kind of drugs, but it's something that'll be known only after the blood test results come."

"Thank you, Dr. Parish." said Rachel and the doctor immediately waved her hand.

"Oh come on, just Lanie."

They came back to the bullpen in the same moment, when they were given all the test results and they gathered around McCord's desk, all listening to what the woman was reading. They learned that just like Lanie suggested, their victim mixed alcohol with drugs, but also that most of the blood, in a pile of which Rendall was found, wasn't his own. It was obvious, that whoever it belonged to, bled to death.

"But what happened to the other body? There are no signs of dragging it, no blood besides the pool... Like it was lifted from above..."

"Or disappeared." suggested Castle and the two male detectives, knowing that one of his crazy theories was coming, looked at their female colleague. Meanwhile, McCord's eyes moved to Castle. "The body could just vanish into thin air, taken for some unknown experiments and possibly replaced with Rendall's body, so the pool of blood won't look suspiciously."

"Did you just suggest that little green man are flying around in their round, flattened ship and stealing our dead bodies?"

"They're _grey._ Anyway, maybe they're doing experiments on resurrection and they found the body interesting for the reason known only for them."

"They can be purple with green dots and stripes, they have nothing to do with this case. Aliens stealing body to resurrect them..!"

With those words and a snort, Rachel turned around and started writing again. As she was finishing to make notes, the door to the elevator spread apart and they noticed Gates come back, just like she said, within two hours. They exchanged looks, watching her go quickly towards them with a young man, taller than her for about a feet, following her without a word. It was the very same person, who they had a portrait of. The Captain showed him to the interrogation room before walking back to them.

"I think you'll be glad to know that he's not our killer..." said Esposito, and the woman shot him a deadly glare.

"Believe me, that's something I had no doubts about from the second I saw this picture, Detective. But it's good to know that the evidence confirm it. Now, if you excuse me, the victim's family is here. It'll be the best if _I_ talk to them. Meanwhile, you can go and talk to my son. I think he may have some useful information for you."

She walked away to the two people, who just walked in and they noticed a surprise on their faces at the sight of her. She glanced at them, when she was inviting them to her office, and McCord placed the marker she was holding on the desk.

"Come on, Castle. He may not be our killer, but just like the Captain said, he may tell us something useful."

They went into the interrogation room to find Benjamin Gates sitting calmly behind the table, patiently waiting for someone to show up. He wasn't nervous, since he was a child and started being curious about his mother's work, she has been telling him that only guilty people should be scared, that if someone is innocent, the evidence will show it. He believed it completely at first, but as he was growing up he started understanding that it wasn't always this way, that it was how it should be. But there was no fear in him, when he noticed the two people walk into the room eyeing him curiously – without a doubts because he was their boss' son. He was, however, in a huge shock. His mother's words that Joey was dead still rang in his ears and he just couldn't believe it. He saw him just during the night, they had an argument and he walked away, and now he won't have a chance to reconcile with him. Amount of time they knew each other made Ben hurt horribly, and despite their fight, he still felt like he lost a member of the family.

He repeated to them everything, what he told his mother earlier. He told them how he was surprised that Joey called him and asked if he would like to go clubbing with him, but finally got persuaded as his friend insisted. He explained that even though he was Rendall's best friend ever since their childhood, their friendship has been getting weaker since Joey was accepted to one of the groups famous in the campus, while Ben wasn't. They practically stopped hanging out together then, and it was why the call was so unexpected. He described how his friend quickly got drunk, behaved in a way, which he considered to be completely inappropriate and how his new friends appeared later, and even though he was no expert, he was pretty sure they had to be under the influence. They offered drugs to them as well, and Benjamin was shocked to see his friend accept them without a moment of hesitation. It was then that he decided to leave and used the side exit because it was closer.

"We know that Joey followed you, what happened later?" asked McCord, when he made a longer pause.

"He started to tell me that I shouldn't leave, that I should have some fun. I kept refusing, so he said that he should have known to ask my sister instead, because she's more at ease. After he made a comment that he might get lucky and get to her pants I lost control and punched him, but that's all. I walked away, I didn't see anything more that could be said. Anyway, one of his friends walked out of the club, so what to stay for? If I'd known..."

"You couldn't have known." said Castle, hearing the distress in the boy's voice, but it didn't really persuade him.

"We don't know what happened there just yet, but I don't think your presence would have helped Joey. It's more possible that if you had stayed, you'd have ended like him. And now, you are able to help us so whoever killed him, will face justice. What time did you leave him in that street?"

"I was at home quarter past, so it had to be just before midnight. My parents can confirm that that's the hour I was back."

"Do you think you'd be able to recognise his friends on the recording and point them to us?"

"Yeah, I think so."

The three walked out of the interrogation room and McCord asked Ryan to show the recordings to Benjamin, so they would know who to look for next. Esposito was looking for any sign of the other victim, calling the precincts and hospitals, and Rachel sat behind her desk, staring at the murder board. Castle sat in his chair as well, watching her and he wasn't sure if she even noticed it. She was so focused on the board that she barely registered the door to Gates' office open. The Captain walked out of the room with the victim's devastated parents, asking one of the officers to take them to the morgue to confirm the identity just for formality.

"I told them that my best people are working on this case, so don't let me down." she said, standing between Castle and McCord. "Keep me informed on the investigation's progress. Ben, come to my office please when you're finished here."

She went back to her room, closing the door behind her and nobody had any doubts that it had to be difficult for her, too. Castle glanced at the boy, sitting next to Ryan and knew that if they really were friends for so long, then she definitely knew the victim quite well. He knew Alexis' friends from childhood and most of their parents, and he didn't see any reason why she shouldn't.

~ Caskett ~

It was an early evening, when he left the precinct. Despite their efforts, they didn't have anything new besides a few more people to look for, and Castle decided that there was no sense for him to stay there any longer. He thought it would be just the same if he went home. A part of him hoped for a chat with Beckett, but he knew that if she had a case, it was highly improbable that she'll be available.

Calling him completely surprised, when he walked into the loft and saw her in the kitchen, would be a huge understatement. He just stopped, staring at her with his eyes wide and mouth open, completely speechless. He blinked a few times, expecting her to disappear, but all the time, she was still standing there, wearing some of the clothes she had in his apartment. There was no doubts that she was preparing dinner, but when she noticed him in the door she just grinned and put everything away, approaching him.

"Hey." she greeted him, wrapping her arms around his neck and leaning in to place a gentle kiss on his lips.

"Kate..? What are you doing here?" the tone of his voice made a smile wander off her face.

"I came for a weekend... I was planning it for some time now... I thought you're going to be happy..."

"I am! But... You didn't mention anything in the morning! If I had known, I would have come here with you! Wait..! It's what you wanted to tell me about just before your cell phone rang!" he stated and Beckett nodded.

"Yeah, but then I was convinced I'm not going to be able to come. It turned out that the possible new case wasn't our job, and by then you were already here and busy on the investigation, so I decided to surprise you."

"Oh, you did. And I love this surprise." he smiled, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her to himself, to capture her lips for another, longer and more passionate kiss.

"If I had known you're going to be home so early, I would have started to work on dinner earlier." she said when they parted for breath and Castle glanced in the direction of the kitchen, then back at her.

"I'm not really hungry yet. Well, not hungry for food anyway..." he wriggled his eyebrows at her and she rolled her eyes.

"Is sex really the only thing you can think about in your spare time?" she asked, having huge troubles with making her words sound like complaining.

"You know that it's not, but with you it just kind of comes to my mind quite often... Not that I saw you have anything against it before..." he smiled, slowly and carefully pushing her towards the bedroom. She shook her head, smiling widely before his lips were on hers again.


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N:** Somehow, even though there's not a lot of action in this chapter, I don't think a lot of people will complain. I'm practically sure it's the last update before I go for holidays, so the next chapter won't be up until the beginning of August. Thanks for all those, who read, who follow or favourite, and who review my story. It really means a lot to me! I hope you're going to enjoy this Casketty chapter :D

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They were lying in the bed, holding each other, enjoying the closeness of their naked bodies pressed against each other. They woke up late in the morning, quite spend after their lovemaking session and just didn't feel like getting up. In fact, they felt more like spending the whole day this way. Kate has never been a very cuddly person, but she absolutely loved to be in Castle's arms, not only after lovemaking but even when they were just watching TV or talking. She felt this need for closeness even more since her move, all the days without him making her needy of even the smallest physical contact. He noticed that during his brief visit to DC, just like he caught a glimpse his own shirt hanged on the chair around the bed, the way she always left the clothes she was sleeping in. He didn't really realise it earlier, but she took a few of his clothes and walked in them around her apartment, to feel closer to him. But she didn't really spend much time in her flat, which she couldn't make herself call home – the name reserved for the loft in her heart. It made her feel horribly lonely, missing everything and everyone she left in New York even more than usually, sometimes to the point of thinking of regretting to come to DC. But the sound of his voice, the sight of his face, even the smallest text message or picture he sent to here was able to soothe her. Because even when she was busy, working on the case, not really able to have a conversation unrelated to work, he always made contact with her, sometimes leaving her messages on voicemails, other time drowning her in texts, yet another one sending her just the information that he was missing her. One thing he always did was send her a 'Good night' message and one time she didn't get it she started to freak out that something might have happened, before she realised that the battery in her cell phone went dead.

She sighed, closing her eyes, breathing in his scent, thinking of how close she was to losing him. It was only when she was away, she fully realised how important he was in her life, how much she came to need his presence. She had no idea what she would have done if it all had turned out differently, if she had gone to see him with a completely different purpose that day on the swings. But when she called him, she was going to tell him that she decided to choose him over the job and it was only because he persuaded her to try, that she has gone to DC. She accepted his proposal and would be completely happy to remain at his side, but he told her that she should go there and see how it would be.

He really has done a lot of thinking and one of the realisations he had come to was that it was stupid to expect her to choose either a job or him, while in reality, she could have both. Yes, he had everything he needed and loved in the Big Apple, but the truth was that those things weren't really obstacles, which would make it unable for him to move to the capital city. He was a writer and he could do that anywhere, not that the money he already had wasn't absolutely enough to secure their lives without the need to work at all. Yes, he would miss his daughter, but Alexis was an adult now and it was possible that one day she would just move away, to the distant state. His mother, he would miss her too, even though he would find it a relief not to share apartment with her. Another thing was, that he was afraid Kate would hate him for blocking her career development, because there was just no assurance that all was going to be wonderful and blissful for them. In fact, it was completely impossible to be so.

They were aware that the long distance relationship wouldn't be an easy thing, even worse because of how much time they used to spend together. They worked together, and after leaving the precinct, more often than not, spent the rest of the day together at his or her place, but most of the time it was his loft. It was one of those things they didn't really touch – yet – but even though it remained unsaid, she almost lived there. There were weeks, when she barely spent an hour in her own apartment, only going for clothes if needed but even this wasn't always necessary because she had quite a few things hanging in his wardrobe next to his. She treated this place as her home, it was exactly what it was for her in her heart. This whole arrangement, however, wasn't making it any easier for them now, and there were moments when he was just ready to pack a bigger suitcase, so he could kind of move in with her. Yet, it wouldn't be much different than it was, because there were days when she wasn't coming back at all, taking a nap on the couch, or when she came back late at night only to leave early in the morning. And they both decided to go on like that for a while, deep in their hearts foolishly believing that it's going to sort itself out, but knowing that one day they will just have to make a decision about those living matters. Because they've already made the decision that they want to stay together forever. It was, however, already a month ago and as for now they were still in the same place as then, even though they both felt horribly uncomfortable like that. They just weren't ready yet, agreeing on it even without words, but with looks every time they admitted just how much they missed each other.

Even though a part of him thought he should go to the precinct to help the team, he decided to show Kate just how much he appreciated that she came to spend the weekend with him. The moment his phone started to ring and he saw the picture of Rachel McCord, sitting behind her desk in the precinct, which he had taken secretly, he rejected the call and turned his cell phone off.

"They'll survive without me, I'll see them on Monday." he said, when she shot him a little surprised look and kissed her teasingly on the tip of her nose after he turned off his phone and put it back on the nightstand. "You, on the other hand, are here for barely the weekend and I want to enjoy your company as long as I can."

"Do you have anything particular in mind?" asked Kate, and he could hear in the tone of her voice that she seemed to do have something. He only shook his head and she smiled, leaning in and giving him a gentle, lingering kiss. "That's nice, because I brought something with me on my way here yesterday."

"What would that be?" Rick's curiosity was raised high, even higher when she just sent him a small, teasing smile.

"Well, I thought I want to do something special with you, and I couldn't come up with an idea for a long time... But then I remember how we watched photo albums with your childhood pictures, and you said you've never seen me younger than a teenager..." she said and noticed a huge grin lit up her fiancé's face.

"You brought your pictures!" he exclaimed happily before she could even finish, grinning from ear to ear. He reminded Kate of a little boy, who were just told that he could do something he loved the most. "I will finally find our Beckett's darkest secrets, haha!"

"I wouldn't be so happy, Castle. It's not like I had the tendency to run around my house, with the only piece of clothing I had on being my panties on my _head_ and the fork in my hand, pretending to be a pirate and challenging everyone, who came to my house." his eyes widened, the grin disappeared from his face, his cheeks getting a little pink, and he looked at her with a mix of horror, embarrassment and shock.

"Where did my mother manage to tell you that?!" he asked, while Kate laughed at his reaction.

"You will never know when, but I can assure you that she didn't only tell me about that, but even showed me a picture!"

"No way! I have destroyed every little piece of evidence that something like this ever took place!" his conviction only made Kate laugh more.

"Come on Castle, you were so cute!" in fact, she didn't think cute was just enough.

They've watched the pictures together, and sometimes he told them stories behind them but the most interesting ones she got to know from Martha. It was obvious that the woman knew more stories from Rick's childhood than even Castle himself, and she was a real treasury of knowledge of all those details he didn't remember or chose not to share. It was her stories that Kate enjoyed the most, and with what Rick told and showed her, she was able to create quite a good image of little Ricky. And, being honest with herself, they also made her realise that deep in her heart there was this drowned out dream, which she has never thought she would be able to make come true. But when she thought of Castle as a child, she was actually wondering what their children would be like and the image of a little boy and a little girl, looking like the man in front of her, got stuck in her head.

"Kate..?" she felt a nudge and blinked, she didn't even know when she got lost in her thoughts. "You're going to bring those pictures?"

"Not so fast, Castle. First, I'll take shower and we'll eat breakfast."

"You're cruel!" he pouted, when she slipped out of the bed and opened the wardrobe to find some clothes to wear. She smiled, shaking her head and looked back at him.

"I may always change my mind..." she said teasingly, but it immediately worked and the pretended sad look disappeared from Rick's face, and the man almost jumped out of the bed gathering his clothes.

"I'll make us breakfast, it'll be faster this way."

She could just laugh at his behaviour and went to the bathroom. When she eventually joined him in the kitchen, she saw a plate full of pancakes already there, and thought of how hungry she actually was. They ate the meal, and then she just couldn't put off the picture watching anymore, because overly excited Castle wouldn't let her to. It was yet another thing she loved about him, even though at the beginning of their acquaintance she really found his childish ways infuriating – maybe a little sweet, but absolutely infuriating. Now she could only think how adorable he was then, and it always brought a huge smile to her face.

"I'm afraid it's going to be nothing compared to the fun I had with your mother." she said, when they were back in the bedroom.

They sat on the bed, Rick leaning against the headrest, Kate half-lying over him, her back against his chest, his arms around her waist. They really loved to be seated this way and found themselves doing it whenever they could.

"Speaking of my mother, I'm wondering what has happened to her. I don't think she has come home last night... Or she just left so early in the morning that I didn't notice it, but it doesn't really sound like her."

"Oh! I guess it's my fault, she walked out on me when I was looking for my keys to the loft. She was very ecstatic to see me there, assured me that you will be too and told me she'll spend the night outside. The way she said it made me think, it was her discreet suggestion that she doesn't want to spend the night here with the two of us _reuniting_."

"I completely don't mind. Okay, Kate, now I want to see little Beckett."

She opened the first of the two albums holding pictures from her childhood, pictures in both carefully segregated to be in order of being taken and the first photo they looked at was the first one her father has ever taken. It was of her, barely few days old, sleeping peacefully and she found herself blushing deeply at the way Castle was looking at it. They moved on, making longer steps every now and then with a photograph, which got more of Rick's attention than the other. It was, among others, a picture of when she was about two with both her parents and he had to say that she looked a lot like her mother. Another one was a photo of her six-year-old self, with a crazy smile, with crayons stuck in her nose and she blushed again. She didn't even remember this one was there, as the albums were holding more 'official' pictures, the one they carefully segregated with her mother to create something like the 'History of Katherine Beckett'.

"Aww, you were so adorable!" exclaimed Rick, when they moved to the next one, which became his absolutely favourite, none of those they've seen later being liked by him so much.

It was a photo of her at her father's cabin when she was seven. She was standing by the lake, wearing a deeply pink dress. Her hair was in complete mess around her head, and the lack of two front teeth didn't prevent her from grinning widely at the camera. She smiled at the memory, remembering the day very well.

"I don't think there's a chance I'll get a copy of it?" asked Castle, going back to this picture after they've watched the whole album, finishing at her being ten years old.

"No, not really. Well, one day these two albums may join yours on the shelf, so you will kind of have a copy..."

"I can't wait."

Kate had to admit that she couldn't either. She was actually looking forward to the day, when they'll decide to live together, no matter where it will be. Her heart might have been in the loft, even now she felt more at home than she had for quite a long time. But it was more possible they'll just have to find something in DC, unless something meaningful happened to bring her back to New York, and she couldn't see it. In fact, it would had to be big and most probably bad, so she definitely preferred it this way. She shook off the bad thoughts that came to her mind and reached out for the other album. She had a day and a half more to spend with Rick, and she very much intended to enjoy them.


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N:** Well, just like I said, the new chapter is being published at the beginning of the August. The thought of the start of a new month makes me excited that the next one is September *jumps in a chair, grinning and clasping her hands*. Anyway, this chapter may not move the action much forward, but it has more Caskett. I hope the doze I gave you will sate those, who want to see a lot of them for some time :) Well, I hope someome is still out there, and that you're going to like it.

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She wasn't at all surprised when Rick was exclaiming that he didn't think she would have done that as they watched the second photo album. It was full of pictures from her teenage years and held a lot of memories, including crazy ones. She wasn't hiding the fact that she had a wild phase and Castle knew about that, but she guessed he just didn't think really guess what was hiding behind that. He couldn't say anything bad to her though, because of his own past, and in fact he was kind of happy that he wasn't the only one doing crazy things, even if hers were less sophisticated.

"I really wish I could meet your mom, you know?" he said, after they reached the picture of her and her friend, getting ready for a party.

She told him the story behind it, that she was sixteen and it was the first time she got so drunk that she didn't even remember most of the night. She was vomiting and not really able to stand on her own feet then, and because her friend was really worried about her, she called her mother. Johanna, of course, came to take her daughter home and Kate didn't know how she acted in the evening, but she remembered waking up in her bed, dressed in pyjamas. It was obvious her mother had to help her get this way, but she also didn't make her a huge scene. Yes, she was angry at her, but remained calm – in contrary to her father, but he didn't say much to her as she told him to leave the moment he started shouting. She talked to her, without caring about the inappropriate way Kate acted towards her, completely ignoring Kate's angry talking back, and making pauses then only to continue her lecture. She let her go only when she was finished and when she thought about it now, Kate had to admit it was worse than being shouted at. Her mother's calmness infuriated her, and it was taking endless time to be over with the whole thing. But it was always the way Johanna was, when she did something wrong. And Kate had to admit that she admired her because of it.

"Wait a second." she moved out of his arms and went to her bag.

He noticed her take a book out of it, and when he caught a glimpse of a cover, he noticed it was one of his books. He was sure, however, it didn't belong to him; his were standing on the shelf almost untouched, looking like they were just bought. This one, however, was quite used; it's cover was a little damaged, and it looked like it was completely drenched in the past, as the sheets were wavy. She came back onto the bed and handed it to him. It was her copy of _Flowers For Your Grave_, or at least it was now, because when he opened it, Rick saw that it wasn't exactly what he thought. His eyes widened, and his mouth opened slightly in surprise when he noticed the dedication. "_To an extraordinarily stubborn Johanna, who gave me back the faith that there are still people that really like my work, Rick Castle._".

"I really met her..." he sighed, closing his eyes and focusing really hard, but it was useless. He couldn't remember writing this dedication, it's just been too long since that.

"It's been one of those time, when you had a reading in the bookshop. It was pouring outside, but she was so persistent of going there... Me and my dad thought she was crazy, but she said she's going to get this book signed and there was no way of convincing her to stay at home. She stood almost two hours in the rain, because you were late and the bookshop was so full of people that there was just no place for anyone else. She was soaking wet, but dried the book in the bathroom and gave it to you to sign. It was the first of your books she read, and that's why she took this particular one. She said you had a priceless expression on your face when you saw her... She loved the book even more after then, even though as you often say, it may not be your best one. It was her favourite... She was such a huge fan of your books... She loved all of them, and it's what made me look at them after her death... I haven't done it earlier, she was just obsessing of how good you are as a writer, and I kept insisting that I prefer Patterson and I'm not going to read your books, because there is no way you are better writer than him..."

"Thanks..." he mumbled, faking hurt and she rolled her eyes, nudging him.

"Come on, Castle!" she kissed his cheek and he sighed, but looked at her waiting for her to continue the story. "Anyway, after she died I was a mess... I just couldn't accept the fact that she was gone, and the fact that they never caught her killer didn't make it easier, as you know... My dad hid most of her things then, because it was just too painful to look at them... But one day I took out the box with her books and took this one out... I read it because I wanted to feel closer to her... After I finished, I came back for the rest and read all of them... I understood why she loved them so much, but they also helped me get through the worst... They gave me back the hope that one day I will know, who killed her. I was buying all of your books on the day they were released, and once I even stood for an hour just to get one signed."

"I signed a book for you, too?" he looked at her in disbelief, and she nodded with a smile.

"You did. You also said I have beautiful eyes..."

"Damn, I don't remember..!" he sighed angrily, and she placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Rick, don't. I didn't tell you this, expecting you to remember signing the book to me or to my mom. There's been thousands of people you did it for, and there is no reason why you should remember the two of us."

He nodded, knowing that she had a point, but it didn't change the fact that he felt disappointed. Not because he couldn't remember her; he knew that if somehow they have been brought together earlier, most probably they wouldn't be together now. They were both different people, but when it came to Castle, he wasn't looking for anything serious. There was a huge chance she would be just another girl on his list, one of those he slept with and didn't remember the name the next morning or one of those, who he has been for few weeks until he got bored. It was difficult for him to imagine getting bored with Kate Beckett, but all of it would have been different, then. However, he was very disappointed he didn't remember her mother. There were a lot of times he wished he could meet the woman; he has heard so many stories about her, from both Kate and Jim, and he knew that in a lot of aspects, Kate was just like Johanna. He was never going to get a chance to see her, or talk to her, even for the shortest of moment; he thought he may be ridiculous, but he was very curious about her.

"Do you think she would like me?" he asked, after a moment, and Kate smiled.

"I am sure she would love you. She could be a little crazy because of the fact that I'm in the relationship with her favourite novelist, but she would be ecstatic that I'm happy." she finished, and the moment later the smile faded from her face. "The problem is that if she was alive, I wouldn't be a cop and we would have never met..."

"Who knows, maybe we would have - you can never be sure about anything with fate." he leaned in to place a soft, tender kiss on her lips.

It lingered longer than he intended, and he soon found himself placing an arm around Kate's waist to pull her closer to himself. He met no resistance and soon she was resting against him, with her hands wrapped around his neck, kissing him back. He cupped her cheek with one of his hands and touched her mouth with the tip of his tongue. She parted her lips and moaned softly into the kiss, as he deepened it, his tongue reaching out to hers. His hands moved to her waist, slowly making their way around her back, caressing her body as they kept kissing. The kiss kept growing more and more passionate, the want for each other slowly raising in them. She could feel his hands slipping under her shirt, sending a shiver through her body at the sensation of his fingers against her bare skin, and she reached to the buttons of his shirt, slowly undoing them one at the time. She moaned softly when his mouth moved to kiss her jaw, making their way to her neck and she bend it slightly, giving him better access to it. Her hand moved under the material to move the shirt down his shoulders when suddenly they jumped apart, surprised and scared by the loud knocking to the front door. He couldn't help but think it was a little police-style, there was however no reason why it should be cops and he just whispered to her to ignore it. The sound, however, repeated, even louder and longer, followed by the yell.

"Richard Castle, open this damn door or I'll kick them down!"

Beckett moved away from him, looking at him surprised. The voice was definitely female, and she didn't recognise it; Rick's face expression suggested that he did. He groaned, sent her an apologizing look, which told her also that it would be better that he opened the door and crawled off the bed. Kate followed him, straightening her a little raised shirt, while he didn't even bother to button his own. He knew that he was going to find Rachel on the other side of the door, and he was surprised that she knew his address. He didn't remember telling her where he lived, but he assumed she must have gotten it from either Ryan or Esposito. Still, he was surprised when instead of one detective he worked with, he noticed all three of them.

"Do you realise, that at least half of the precinct is wondering what happened to you?" asked Rachel, looking at him with an anger in her eyes, her arms crossed on her chest. "I am trying to call you for few hours, so are Ryan and Esposito! We started to wonder if you were fine! I understand that your fiancée is here, you decided to stay home with her, and I realise that you were _busy_, but is it really so hard to answer the phone or at least send a short text message?!"

Castle looked at the woman, completely speechless. Ryan and Esposito looked surprised by her outburst as well, but there was a relief visible in their features. Kate looked at the whole scene from the distance, with a huge curiosity. She hasn't thought that the boys may start wondering what happened to Rick, when he wasn't answering his phone, but she thought she should have. Her attention was drawn to the blonde woman in the middle, who she had no doubts had to be Castle's new partner and she had to admit that she imagined her a little differently. Now she knew what he meant by saying that she's as not similar to her as only possible, at least at first sight. Rachel was the first one to notice Beckett, and when the boys looked up at her after she was mentioned, she slowly approached them.

"I'm really sorry, guys. I should have told you I'm just not coming today. I owe you." he said, and the detectives nodded. "Oh, and by the way. Kate, this is Rachel McCord, the new detective at the 12th. Rachel, this is my fiancée, Kate Beckett."

"It's nice to meet you." said the blonde, extending her hand with a smile on her face, and Kate shook it.

"Now, that we know that Castle is okay, we should head back to the precinct before Gates decides, that we were gone too long." suggested Esposito, and both Ryan and McCord nodded their heads.

"I'll join you in the car, I want to talk to them." stated Ryan, and Rick and Kate moved aside, so he could get into the loft.

"Come on, Cordy." Espo gestured towards the elevator with his head and the two detectives walked away, talking about something, while Castle stared at them with raised eyebrows.

"Cordy..?" he mouthed, his eyes moving to Kevin, when they disappeared, but the man only shrugged. "When I saw her father friendly chatting with my mother after the infamous first dinner together, I thought that I am not going to be so surprised, but when did this happen?"

"Don't ask me, Castle. They were like this when I came to the precinct today. Anyway, it's nice you're here Beckett, because I am making a little 'family gathering' this evening; me, Jenny, Espo, Lanie, and the two of you if you come"

"Of course we'll be there, just tell us the place and hour, right Castle?" the writer nodded and Kevin smiled slightly.

"I actually thought about meeting at The Old Haunt, at eight."

"Great, I'll call and make sure our table won't be occupied!"

Since Castle was the owner of the bar, it was the only one their team was going to and they were all well known among the whole staff. They even had their own table, which was the most private one in the whole place, standing at the back, in the distance from the rest. It wasn't very likely for them to be bothered by anyone being at the bar, because of this distance, but the people working there always made sure that they will be able to feel themselves like they were at home, as much as it was possible.

Rick, just like he promised, made sure it was ready for them and even though he and Kate were the last to arrive, the rest was already seated there. Lanie squealed at the sight of Beckett, and immediately embraced her tightly, happy to see her friend. She and Jenny didn't know that Kate was in New York, as the boys decided to keep it a secret and make her arrival a surprise for the two. Jenny approached her when the ME finally let her go, and hugged her as well. Even though she didn't spend a lot of time with them, and much less than the five of them together, she was still considered a part of their little, unusual family.

They all sat back at the table, and everyone immediately started to ask Kate questions about DC. Even though they had contact, the phone call was nothing like a real conversation and they also didn't have any limited time for the talk. There was no way they were going to get kicked out of the bar, even at the closing hour because of obvious reason being Castle's company, so they could enjoy their time together as long as they wanted.

"Why don't we give Kate a little break?" suggested Jenny, and Kate looked at her grateful, as she was being the centre of attention for most of the evening. "There is actually, a reason why me and Kevin organised this meeting."

"Yeah, there is." said Ryan, catching Jenny's hand. Lanie, Kate and Rick looked at him surprised, while Javier smiled, and the three had no doubts that whatever was the reason, he was informed. "We decided to keep it to ourselves for some time, but now we think it's a good time for you to know."

"OH MY GOD! You two are going to have a baby!" exclaimed Lanie, inducing a slight surprise on Castle and Beckett's faces but the Ryans only nodded.

There were a lot of hugs and congratulations, all of them were very happy for their friends. There were no doubts that the little Ryan was going to be very spoiled by her or his aunts and uncles, as they all already announced, and they all declared their readiness to help with preparations, and later babysit. It became the main focus of the talk for the rest of the evening, and they all parted quite late at night.

"I am so happy for Ryan, he will be an amazing dad." said Kate, when she and Castle came back to the loft, kicking her heels off her feet.

"Yes, he definitely will. And he is going to be spoiling the child so much, it's not born yet but it already has him wrapped around its little finger!"

"I can hear him talking about the baby all the time..."

"Oh yes, he definitely will do it. He's a very lucky guy... I sometimes find myself wishing Alexis was little so I could experience all those little-huge joys again, and he has it all right in front of him."

"Well, who knows Rick... Maybe one day you will have the chance..." she bit her lip, looking at him with a hint of uncertainty in her eyes but it faded when she saw something lit up in his.

"Are you saying that you'd like to have a child with me..?" he asked, his lips widening in a smile when she nodded.

"Yeah. I mean, not now. It's definitely not a good time now, but one day I'd like that." a dreamy smile appeared on her face at the image of a little boy, the perfect mix of their looks and personalities, running around the loft, which was stuck in her head for some time. She didn't really know when it appeared there, just like she didn't even know why she always pictured them to have a son, while she never really wished for a child of the specific gender. She thought it could be influenced by the fact that he has already had a daughter, but she couldn't see him complaining if he was to have another one.

She was only brought back to reality by the feeling of his arms around her waist, pulling her to him. She smiled, seeing his face and as much as she wondered if he'd actually want another child when his daughter was all grown up now, it was obvious all her worries could be gone.

"I love you, you know?" he asked, making her smile widen.

"Yeah, I think you've mentioned it." she grinned teasingly, and placed a gentle kiss on his lips. "And I love you, too." this time it was him, who captured her lips in a kiss, but didn't let them go for a long time.


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N:** Sorry for this delay, I'll try to make sure the next chapter is going to appear sooner. Thank you all for your kind words about my story. **_Marine_** - don't worry about your English, it's not my first language either, so I perfectly understand your situation. So, I'm sorry once again and I hope you're going to enjoy the chapter.

Special thanks to **_everybodylies95_**, for being this story's 100th follower. It's the first time any of my stories reached this amount of followers, and I am very excited.

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No matter how much they avoided thinking and talking about it, it was inevitable for the weekend to end and for Kate to have to pack her things and go back to DC. While she was going around the loft and gathering her belongings, which she was taking with herself, everything inside her was screaming with the desire to stay. She had absolutely no idea when will be the next time she is able to come with a visit, and she only realised how much she missed everything about New York, when she was here. It was also then that she knew, that no matter how long she will be there, no matter if Castle decides to join her in the capital, she will never be able to call the place her home.

The living issue with her fiancé was yet another thing that she hated to even think about mentioning. She knew that sooner or later, they had to finally bring it up. It's been a month since she went to DC, and they had the opportunity to see just how the long-distance relationship was going to look like between them. Yes, they talked via Internet any chance they had, but she missed him horribly. She missed the feeling of his arms wrapped around her, his kisses, even just his presence next to her. In fact, she also missed having him around at work, but it was the one thing she could do nothing about. She didn't know how long they could go on like that, seeing each other once in a month, maybe more rarely. But it definitely didn't bode well.

She was a little surprised when he approached her with this subject, but yes, of course. They promised each other to talk about issues they see in their relationship and he was just keeping it, while she did quite lousy at this matter. She felt a twinge in her heart at this realisation, but at the same time couldn't help but wonder if there was actually sense in talking about something, what she didn't see a solution for, yet? It seemed that Castle gave this topic much more thought than she did, obviously looking for the best option and now decided to share with her the conclusions he reached.

She felt her heart jump when he mentioned that he really considered moving to her, to DC. Nobody could deny that his profession allowed him a lot of freedom when it came to the place, where he worked, and he didn't need to be in New York to continue writing. He could do that from the capital as well, and in fact from any other place in the world, where his laptop would work. People could call her selfish, that she expected him to join her instead of the situation being the other way around, but it wasn't so easy for her. Yes, she had moments when she wanted to come back, but if Castle joined her, she was sure he would make them disappear.

She wrapped her arms around him, hugging him as he explained his plan to her. He was still needed here for four more months, but after the release of the newest Nikki Heat book they would go to Los Angeles for the premiere of the film and go back straight to DC from there. This time would give them opportunity to settle everything, and even though it seemed like eternity now, would pass quickly. It was all, of course, if she wanted and she couldn't imagine that he thought she might not.

"I could look for a nice place there. I mean, your apartment is nice but it's definitely not like me... And of course, you may not feel fine with me moving in with you..." she stopped him, placing a finger on his lips and looked at him with raised eyebrows.

"I do feel fine with it, Rick. Come on, even when I was back here we were practically living together! Think of how much time I was spending here in comparison to my own apartment..."

"Well... We sometimes went there, in a desperate need for privacy..." he said, after a moment and Kate smiled.

"Exactly, Castle. _We_. Even when I was there I was with you. And you have to admit it was very rarely. I was very slowly moving in here, even though we didn't really see it this way. Still, some of my thing were staying here every time, and I think that if it continued a little longer, I would have more of my things here than there."

"So, you're saying you think that we should live together when I move to DC..?"

"We're engaged and I believe that sooner or later, we will have to take this step, won't we? And I have to admit that if we live together, we'll have a bigger chance of spend even the shortest of moments with each other quite often. I do work a lot, and when I come home I often don't have enough strength to even think about going anywhere..."

He grinned and leaned in to place a kiss on her lips. Wanting to spend as much time with her as it was given to him, he also decided to accompany her to the airport. She wasn't sure if it was a good idea, she remembered very well how difficult it was for her to say goodbye to him and go towards the gates the first time, and then she was convinced she was going to see him sooner. Now she knew that there may be quite a while before they see each other again, and felt horribly sad at the thought of walking away from him. She sighed, wrapping her arms around his chest and hiding her face in his shirt, feeling him hug her tightly. None of them wanted to let go of one another, but they had no choice, because the passengers for her flight were already being called to move towards the gate. She kissed him and walked away, swallowing the lump that was forming in her throat. She turned around, fighting very hard to keep tears away from her eyes, but not really succeeding in this task and waved to him. He lifted his hand and waved it with a sad smile, just before she turned around and disappeared from his sight.

Later, as she was sitting waiting to get on the plane, and then as it was flying towards DC, she couldn't stop thinking about how difficult it was. She felt like she was leaving him in way much more significant than it really was, while they were going to be together again soon, if their plan would work. Yet, it hurt horribly as she was seeing the familiar buildings of New York fading from her view through the plane window, the weather nice enough for her to have a wonderful view. She was leaving home, she was leaving him... But didn't it actually mean the same? Didn't they say that your home is there, where your heart? Her heart was definitely in The Big Apple, and was going to remain there for at least a while longer.

Castle didn't feel the usual joy entering the precinct, holding the cup of coffee and the bag with donuts. He couldn't get over the fact how horribly wrong it felt to come to the 12th with absolutely nothing, only a drink for himself and ended in the small confectionery right next to the coffee shop he was always stopping by. So, he bought four donuts, for an experiment and now was standing in the elevator, waiting for it to get him to the right floor. The ride seemed longer than always, but then the door slid open and he noticed the room he knew so well, and he stepped out. Of course, it was no surprise that he was the last one to appear in there, as even though he didn't see any person from his team, he could see Ryan's bag with sandwiches on his desk, Esposito's jacket hanging on the back of his chair and a cup standing on Beckett's – Rachel's – desk, the steam above it suggesting it was quite fresh. He was convinced he heard McCord's laughter and he assumed they had to be in the break room.

The first thing he did was to look at the murder board. He knew that they were working on the case during the weekend, when he chose to stay home with Kate, and was curious about the progress they've made. It seemed they were able to locate most of the people mentioned by Gates' son as the ones, who were Joey's new friends and appeared in the club. But just like he suspected they would, they weren't very cooperative and didn't tell them much. They also haven't found the other body, and he suspected he didn't lose as much as he thought he would. Captain's mood seemed to only confirm his assumptions, because she was obviously displeased, when Castle saw her walk towards her office.

He knew this case had to be difficult for her because of her family's connection to the victim. He remembered very well how it looked like when Alexis' best friend moved to another city and his daughter lost her, and even though the girls were ten then and it moving could hardly be compared to being murdered, he suspected her son felt horrible and it pained her even more. Victoria Gates could be a strong woman, and earned the 'iron' element in her nickname, but Castle had no doubts that there was nothing more important for her than her children and she had to suffer too, seeing her son's grief.

He jumped at the sound of the ringing phone and looked behind to notice that it was the phone on Rachel's desk. Seeing that the detective wasn't coming to answer it, he automatically reached out his hand but stopped just before he touched it. Kate didn't want him answering her phone, and he had no idea how the blonde would feel about it. Still, he didn't want to risk making her upset, and decided to just let it be. He could have suspected, that this decision would mean that she would prefer if he actually answered it.

"Really, Castle? It's not like it's my cell phone, which I would be angry at you for answering because the matter could be private. But here? It's not like I'm not going to share with you whatever is being said!"

He winced, thinking just how ridiculous it was. He didn't really care about not annoying Beckett, so it was no surprise that doing what he wanted to do, he was getting on her nerves. Now, however, when he wanted to be considerate, and tried not to do anything that could make the detective angry, it still had the same effect as his actions had with Kate. He made a mental not to himself to try doing things the way he knew Beckett would be annoyed; it seemed that it could be a way to avoid making Rachel upset.

"Cordy, Castle, there has been a body found. We can't be sure until we get the test results, but it's most probably our missing victim." Esposito and Ryan joined them, and the four left the precinct together.

It wasn't really the area of the 12th precinct, but because all the police stations in the city were notified to inform them of the body with a significant blood loss, they got the information. They had no doubts why the moment they arrived and saw the man, lying on his back, with his shirt completely soaked in blood. When Lanie, who was kneeling next to him, spread the material a little, they noticed that his chest was covered in numerous stab wounds.

"I'll tell you for sure after the autopsy, but I am quite convinced that Mr. John Krynski died slowly and painfully, bleeding to death."

"And I am quite sure that he's not one of Joey Rendall's friends, he's way too old."

"This can mean that the boy was an accidental victim. Maybe he witnessed how Krynski was murdered and the killer made sure that he's not going to tell anyone about it..."

"Or there was another connection between the two, we just don't know about it, yet. Do we know where he lived?" asked Rachel and Esposito handed her the man's wallet with the ID inside. "Let's go to the family, Castle. They deserve to know that we've found him."


End file.
